Clippers aiming for field hockey title

PORTSMOUTH — Along with being the school's field hockey coach, Shannon Fernald also teaches history at Portsmouth High School.

Mike O'Neil

PORTSMOUTH — Along with being the school's field hockey coach, Shannon Fernald also teaches history at Portsmouth High School.

So with the Clippers one win away from claiming the second state championship in program history, Fernald picked a great time to bring her two jobs together.

Today at noon, the 11th-ranked Clippers will face top-seeded Souhegan at Bedford High School with the Class I crown on the line.

On paper, Portsmouth appears to be a true underdog story as Souhegan rolled to 17 straight wins, including a 3-1 victory over the Clippers in the first week of the season. Portsmouth, meanwhile, needed three straight upset wins to get to its fourth title game in school history.

But that's where the history lesson comes in.

Last Friday during practice, the second-year Portsmouth coach called in a substitute teacher of sorts to help the Clippers prepare for their biggest test of the year.

Fernald's aunt, former Portsmouth coach Kathy Siegle, was asked to come by to pass along her experiences as head coach. In 1982, Siegle led the Clippers to the program's only field hockey title with a 1-0 win over Concord.

"I just wanted her to come in and pass along what it was like for her," said Fernald. "I wanted her to let this team know they have what it takes to give Souhegan a run for their money."

Siegle, who led Portsmouth back to the championship game again in 1983, brought news articles and scrapbooks chronicling her team's run to the title.

"It was just great," said Portsmouth netminder Emily Achilles. "She started to tear up a bit just describing it to us. She told us how this feeling stays with you for your whole life."

While Souhegan may be Class I's most dominant team, the Clippers have been the hottest. Portsmouth knocked off sixth-seeded Kearsarge, third-ranked Lebanon and seventh-seeded Kennett to reach the state final.

Fittingly enough, Lebanon was one of the three teams Portsmouth defeated on its way to the finals in '82.

"I wanted to go out and play right there," said senior defender Melissa Stanwood. "They're a one seed, and we're an 11, and on Sunday that's not going to matter to any of us. It's going to come down to who wants it more."

Even as a youngster growing up in Portsmouth, Siegle has always been someone Fernald has looked to for guidance.

"She's the one that bought me my first field hockey stick," said Fernald. "Even as a 6-year old, I can remember her in these playoff games and I just wanted her to pass that along."

Fernald isn't the only one with ties to Clipper teams of the past. Portsmouth forward Mary Quill's mother and four aunts played field hockey for the Clippers.

"The whole team is ready for this," said Quill, who netted three goals in Portsmouth's semifinal win on Wednesday night. "My aunts played, my mother played. I even had two grandmothers play and one was from Australia. They've all been behind me; in fact, the whole community has been behind us to win."

"I'm extremely proud of this team," said Fernald. "This has just been a dream come true. I knew we had the talent to do this. I told them before the playoffs, 'You have the skills, you've done all the running everyday; now it's time to put it all together.'"

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